Tag Archive for Lucas Duda

From where I sit, hiring the least experienced candidate they possibly could and putting Omar Minaya a heartbeat away is a mixed message at best for our Mets. We know Omar for all his scouting smarts is an analytical illiterate and closely aligned with Fred Wilpon, typically the root of all dysfunction that accompanies the club including this last coup. Meanwhile it looks as though the ties to the maligned Alderson Administration are to be cut completely, with John Ricco and JP Ricciardi evidently afterthoughts.

Ready for action

As for Brodie, who the hell knows. Putting aside the awkwardness of now lording over talent he once represented in opposition to the brass and the accompanying conflicts-of-interest that entails, it’s hard to guess how he’ll actually address the club’s weaknesses. Though this smells a lot like the first Omar Takeover, where the club will let go of their typically tight grip on salaries so as to make a show of their new willingness to compete, probably by doing something moronic like signing the most expensive relief pitcher out there, or maybe by tearing apart the farm system built by predecessors in a daring trade.

So I’m predicting a newsy offseason likely to result in a few inarguable “on-paper” improvements but I’m going to wait and see whether they actually represent the mix of creativity, boldness and strategic forethought that actual successful organizations employ. It’s not going to be easy even for a smart group.

Were it up me, I’d see what it would take to make Manny Machado the third baseman, which would come with the bonus of forcing Todd Frazier to another club. The Mets may also have a decision to make on the order of Duda-Davis, choosing between the promising but thus-far inconsistent Dom Smith and the promising but older and less-sound defensive player Peter Alonso, which is not as easy as it might look, as both guys could tank. First basemen need to hit.

My secret weapon? See what it takes to get one more really good starting pitcher in the style of the 90s Braves adding Greg Maddux to the Glavine-Smoltz-Avery core. If it turns Steven Matz into trade bait, or the lefthanded reliever we apparently need, so much the better.

You can count on the Mets making a show of acquiring relief pitchers anyhow, as dubious a strategy as I suspect it is (the way to prevent losing close games is to score more runs, and not necessarily count on the other team to fail at the same), but were they to acquire Brooklyn’s own Adam Ottavino to bolster what they’ve got I won’t mind, and if you’re going to select a “proven closer” it may as well be Jeurys Familia.

Roster moves thus far are marking the end of the line for Phillip Evans (28); Rafael Montero (50); Jack Reinheimer (72); and Jamie Callahan (43). Major league free agents are Jerry Blevins (39); AJ Ramos (44); Jose Lobaton (59); Devin Mesoraco (29); Jose Reyes (7) and Austin Jackson (16). I could see Jackson back as a reserve outfielder if nothing else, and I figure they might consider Mesoraco and Ramos.

Props to Mark Healey for the headline/nickname which I’m totally adopting.

Goodbye and good luck to Curtis Granderson, whose 3.75 seasons of exemplary work with the Mets was rewarded with a paid vacation to Hollywood and the Dodgers (where he’s wearing No. 6, doncha know). No one could have been sure what was in store when Granderson, coming off a lengthy injury and getting up in years for a one-time speedster, inked a deal with then then-retooling Mets but other than a habit of very slow starts — this year’s, pretty costly — he gave us way more than we bargained for, being a cleanup guy OR a leadoff guy, drawing all those walks, hitting those postseason homers, shooting pics of Lucas Duda, just being an all-around good guy who was right: Real New Yorkers ARE Mets fans.

He leaves having just surpassed Bud Harrelson for the all-time RBI lead among guys who wore No. 3; he tied, then beat the home-run mark then held by Carl Everett on June 7, 2015.

Rene Rivera in the meantime has waivered over to the Cubs where he too has a good postseason shot but will need to do it in another number: His customary 44 belongs to Mike Rizzo. (this just in: Rivera is wearing No. 7).

Alert MBTN reader Richard in the meantime pointed out Rivera’s departure frees up 44 for erstwhile Mets closer AJ Ramos, should he want to switch.

Of 2017’s departing Mets, only Lucas Duda has maintained his numerical identity, still rocking 21 in Tampa. Jay Bruce is back to wearing 32 in Cleveland (and killing it). Neil Walker is wearing 15 in Milwaukee

Hey guys, I’m back from a lengthy vacation where among other things I was there to witness Amed Rosario’s doomed first game as a Met at Coors Field but missed a ton of other stuff so here’s the happy(?) recap of a busy few weeks.

Chris Flexen is wearing 64 and is in the starting rotation. Flexen was recalled in late July from Class AA where he’d been pitching quite well. Flexy is the fourth guy to wear 64 for the Mets. In keeping with current tradition he was simply reissued the same number he wore in Spring Training. I used to think that if guys proved themselves in this role they might get more dignified numbers down the road, but Seth Lugo says no.

Flexen the other day was opposed by Texas’ AJ Griffin, promoting a question I never thought would be asked:

Ok @Springer66, odds that this is 1st time in MLB history both starting pitchers wore # 64?

Lucas Duda, Addison Reed, Jay Bruce and Neil Walker have been traded away. I liked Duda quite a lot and would say that if his newly recalled replacement could accomplish all he has (let’s say, lead his number in all-time home runs) we’ll be fortunate. As for Reed and Bruce, easy come easy go.

On the other hand, daring Neil Walker to take a $17 million qualifying offer to remain a Met in 2017 ought to go down as one of Sandy Alderson’s bigger goofs as it was clear even last year Walker was no $17 million player, there were already plenty of potential second basemen in the organization, and I suspect that paycheck became a obstacle to having done more with the 2017 roster. As it is we’ve got to pay Milwaukee to take him. That said Walker was a pro, whose terrific start in 2016 was you know, something. Like Bruce’s 2017. It was announced just after I published that the Mets have recalled Las Vegas reliever Kevin McGowan to take Walker’s roster spot: He’ll wear No. 61.

In the midst of all this getting-rid-ofs, Alderson also did an clever thing in acquiring closer AJ Ramos of Florida. I have no idea whether Ramos is actually good but his acquisition helped the Mets move Reed without completely destroying themselves, gave themselves another affordable option for next year, and may have made Reed relatively more valuable by reducing the Proven Closer inventory. Ramos was a 44 in Florida but is wearing 40 as a Met. Braden Looper notched 57 saves wearing that number.

Who knows if any of the dudes we received in exchange for these surrendered pieces amount to anything but they seem to consist nearly entirely of hard-throwing bullpen wannabees. This reminds me of the 2003 selloff when Jeromy Burnitz, Armando Benitez, Roberto Alomar, Rey Sanchez, Graeme Lloyd and probably others I can no longer remember were sent packing, mostly for relief pitchers, none of whom ever really worked out.

And like 2003, we did so anticipating a brighter future on the strength of recent (and anticipated) callups. As mentioned Amed Rosario debuted in Denver, and this weekend first baseman Dominic Smith arrived, in 1 and 22, respectively, the numbers they had in Las Vegas. Whether these guys turn out to be the new Reyes-and-Wright remains to be seen but welcome aboard. Rosario is the 31st different player to don No. 1, which has basically been held under reserve for him for a few years even if Justin Ruggiano was seen wearing it last. Smith has two World Series MVPs as his precessors in 22; and the home-run king is Kevin McReynolds with 122.

Smith’s promotion coincided with coach Tom Goodwin’s switch to No. 88: He’s the first Met to have ever won that. Oh, and it resulted in the long-deserved designation of Fernando Salas who always seemed to be a dead-cat bounce and might not have been counted on so heavily had we not fattened up on Neil Walker salary.

Thanks again to the commenters here and on Twitter who kept the conversation going in my absence! LGM

Chris Flexen, the Class AA starter called up to make tonight’s start in San Diego in place of the injured Zack Wheeler, will be the first Met to wear 64 since Akeel Morris in 2015, another minor leaguer who made a big jump to the big leagues.

Let’s hope this promotion turns out better for Flexen than it did for Morris, who was bombed for 5 earned runs in 2/3rds of an inning, sent back to Class A afterwards, and eventually got traded to Atlanta in one or another of the Kelly Johnson deals.

Flexen you might recall was also considered to have been one of the guys who was on the way out in the Jay Bruce deal last summer but was rejected by the Reds due to physical concerns so perhaps he fits right in as a Met.

At any rate, he’s the first minor leaguer called up this week but likely not the last as time ticks down for the Mets to rid themselves of anything of short-term value, namely closer Addison Reed and perhaps, Asdrubal Cabrera, Neil Walker, Rene Rivera, Curtis Granderson and Lucas Duda, all of whom have come up in rumors. Of those names it will be bittersweet to part with the last few. I’ve always liked Big Duda, who I’m sure is ultimately destined to mash a million home runs as a DH for some AL West team, and Granderson is a terrific pro who’d probably be a nice emotional investment for a playoff-bound club.

But, they aren’t going anywhere with the 2017 Mets who have been betrayed by the health and consistency of their starting pitching, particularly Steven Matz who has probably been the most frustrating guy to root for, either throwing a gem, getting bombed or getting hurt — nothing in between for this guy. I also think it’s been proven their qualifying-offer gambit with Walker was a disaster: This was a useful guy, for sure, but hardly vital given the fact there were 5 other guys who can second base and aren’t spending a second straight year on the disabled list, and aren’t making $17 million. In the end that cash would have been better used for some more relief pitching. The lesson: Don’t go into a year with guys you’d prefer not to have.

I think it’s also likely that after months of waiting we’ll see AAA prospects Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith shortly, the latter particularly if Duda goes. Rosario we’ve established wears No. 1 and that appears to have been reserved for him. Smith is rocking No. 22 in Las Vegas and could take it over upon a recall if coach Tom Goodwin will part with it, with one of or the other of them inheriting Duda’s surrendered No. 21, Walker’s given-up 20 or even Cabrera’s 13.

Veteran lefty Tommy Milone, acquired on a waiver claim from Milwaukee over the weekend, is expected to make his Mets debut Wednesday wearing No. 29.

There is a lot of uninteresting things we should mention here.

+ Milone will become the 37th guy to inherit the 29 jersey, one of the most popular numbers in Mets history. His predecessors include fellow portsiders Willard Hunter (1962), Don Rowe (1963), Rob Gardner (1965-66), Mickey Lolich (1976), Tom Gorman (1982-85), Frank Viola (1990-91) and Frank Tanana (1993).

+ Eric Campbell was the most recent occupant. The 29 Mount Rushmore is represented by Steve Trachsel, Ike Davis, Dave Magadan and Viola.

+ Trachsel was never supposed to wear No. 29 yet racked up far more games, wins, innings, and strikeouts than the 18 other pitchers in the family. When acquired as a free agent prior to the 2001 season he was initially issued No. 28 but rejected it because of its association with recently departed pitcher Bobby Jones, who was a Cal State-Fresno product and therefore an enemy of Trachsel’s Cal State-Long Beach heritage.

The Matt Harvey Incident, which we briefly discussed below, as expected is turning into a complete clusterfuck, with the latest reports detailing an all-night drinking escapade, security men doing bedchecks, and the disgraced Met righty in his pajamas. It already appears to have caused and ended Adam Wilk’s Mets career, as the Wilkman was demoted back to Vegas yesterday to make room for Milone.

Harvey’s supposed to be back tonight, and scheduled to pitch in Milwaukee on Friday. I know the guy’s stock is down but it would be appropriate if we left him there. Just give us a decent pitching prospect and a reliable third baseman. Deal?

During Sunday’s victory over the Braves, an unusual and perceptive notice popped up in my feed. In the bottom of the first inning, Jay Bruce reached on an error, Neil Walker singled and Lucas Duda followed with a base-on-balls, setting up the following bases-loaded situation as described here by TJ:

19-20-21 in reverse sequence as baserunners for the #Mets. Gotta be a rare occurrence right? @EliasSports

Not to speak for Elias Sports, but I’d bet it is. I’ve played around a little bit trying to determine whether the Mets ever had an all-ascending uni number starting lineup (haven’t found one yet) and I can recall lots of notable sequential teammates but this question never occurred to me and figuring out would be a task, which is why I’m opening it up to you guys out there.

My first thought on this matter was the possibility of the 16-17-18 combo of Gooden on third, Hernandez on second and Strawberry on first, which had lots of opportunity to happen. Their teammates on the ’86 champs Wally Backman, Kevin Mitchell and Gary Carter, had a whole season of opportunity to pull this one off too, but also hard to envision a scenario where Backman stops at third. Foster-Gooden-Hernanez 15-17 would be a less likely scenario but I don’t want to rule it out yet.

Looking further into the likely possibilities would also require an examination of the 1969 World Champs, who had Agee, Jones and Clendenon stacked up 20-22 (Tim Foli, No. 19 in 1970-71, could be another engine in this train). Back when numbers were lower and retirements fewer we can envision scenarios of Ashburn on first, Throneberry at second and Bouchee or Harkness on 3rd, but I got no idea.

Anyone brave enough to dive into this please speak up!

Following is my list of notable Mets teammates wearing consecutive numbers, though by no means an exhaustive list of all possibilities over the years:

Around here, this time of year often inspires lots of speculation about inbound freight and what to outfit them in, but it was pointed out to me yesterday that other than the 40-man additions noted below, and the re-signing of three of our own free agents (Neil Walker, Rene Rivera, Yoenis Cespedes), there has been a grand total of zero new names on the sacred scrolls since September.

Well, one new guy if you count incoming third-base/catching coach Glenn Sherlock, who will replace Tim Teufel in an act of mercy. Sherlock by the way wore No. 53 in a similar role with the Diamondbacks, so he feels more like a real coach and less of guy whose main qualification for the role was a job with the Mets in 1986.

Players? There’s been none. No journeyman catchers with spring training invites, no Rule 5 picks, no lefthanded relief pitchers, no veteran bats on make-good comeback contracts, and of course, no Winter-Meeting-Three-Team-Twelve-Player Blockbusters (WMTT12PBs), which on a chilly December morning like this would warm old the hot stove. In the meantime we’ve seen a few Mets go away: Bartolo Colon, Logan Verrett (we’ll never forget how few craps he gave taking No. 35 still warm from Dillon Gee), and Johnny Monell.

Obviously this will change if and when the Mets get around to addressing the Jay Bruce Question; for now I’m pleased that the team hasn’t given him away for nothing and I’m dubious in general that any relief pitcher ought to be fair value for a flawed but legitimate power bat like Bruce.

And just maybe, they’re holding out on a secret WMTT12PB. Perhaps Bruce can find a home again — in Cincinnati. Trade him, Lucas Duda and Steven Matz for Joey Votto and a reliever? Votto’s the kind of Olerud/Hernandez type bat this club could really use, David Wright can’t be counted on being anymore, and guys like Conforto and Nimmo might not get the chance to be.

Otherwise, we’re a adequately situated and familiar club that will require a lot to go right again in 2017.

That’s the Second-Half Mets, who are going to need to be considerably better than their first-half counterparts if they want to turn this year into something.

I’m not saying they can’t do that, and I’m definitely not saying I’m not rooting for it, but based on what we saw in the first half, I have my doubts.

I’d have felt better had the team managed to pierce the 10-games-over-.500 barrier but we only approached it several times before settling back into that 80-something win pace. Nobody seems to be acknowledging the biggest loss for the club was big Lucas Duda, who allowed guys like Neil Walker to bat 6th or 7th instead of 4th or 5th. Duda is a mysterious creature. Do we even know how he broke his back? Is his return even a possibility? I’m skeptical of a strong back half without him or someone as terrifying.

I like Walker enough, but he’s not a middle-of-the-order guy and he hasn’t been much of a force since April. The Mets have Flores, Hererra, Reyes, Reynolds and Cecchini as potential middle infielders. The Mets have no doubt gotten the better of the Niese-Walker swap so far but you wonder, with the Pirates potentially losing an infielder (Kang) and the Mets a starting pitcher, whether they’d shake hands, swap apartments again and pretend it never happened. Niese has been awful, but throw in a prospect, Pittsburgh, and maybe you have a deal. While you’re at it, would you be interested in a reunion with Antonio Bastardo?

Michael Conforto plummeted even more dramatically than Walker but appears to be regaining his stroke in AAA. His return to form would be a considerable boost. Jose Reyes’ return seems to have interrupted Brandon Nimmo’s shot at becoming the leadoff hitter we were looking for anyway. Referring to my recent failed campaign to outfit Travis d’Arnaud in a new number an MBTN reader made a clever suggestion that I might support in helping Conforto to a better second half:

@Springer66 re: bringing back number 8. Notice his twitter handle (mconforto8), give it to him when he returns. Change mojo & number – voila

They say it’ll all come down to pitching in the end and I agree. Matt Harvey’s loss, while disappointing, isn’t a setback for the club inasmuch as he wasn’t doing nearly enough to help them win when he was out there. Do they trade for a reliable 5th starter type (Niese again!) or trust things to Sean Gilmartin, and Seth Lugo and Logan Verrett? Maybe they aim a little higher and come away with a Jorge De La Rosa or Rich Hill. Maybe the injury to Snydergaard is worse than expected and they unload. I guess we have to wait and see.

Finally, my friend Conor captured this video from the National broadcast over the weekend! Go us!

Lucas Duda has a broken back, I have a broken heart, and Duda will miss “significant” time on the disabled list, the Mets said Monday. The Mets recalled veteran minor league multi-position player and Spring Training All-Star Ty Kelly to take Duda’s place on the roster, while Dario Alvarez was whacked from the 40-man roster to make room for Kelly.

Kelly will wear No. 55, as he had this spring inheriting the jersey from another Kelly (Johnson) who wore it last. In Las Vegas, Kelly did about all you could do, leading all of the minors with a .391 batting average and a .478 on-base average, and he’s a switch hitter who can play 5 positions (including a little first), which is great. He also makes funny YouTube videos. But he’s not a power hitter like Duda. Make no mistake, we’re gonna miss that big goofy guy.

I guess this also means still more Eric Campbell, at least till Wilmer Flores gets back.

Hi, I don’t want to interfere with the pennant race so I’ll be quick here and acknowledge the return of Dario Alvarez to the big club. Alvarez maintains the same No. 68 he wore last time around and the distinction of being the only man ever to wear that number for the Mets (he’s also the only Dario, and the only Alvarez, in club history. What a trailblazer!). Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Lucas Duda whom I suspect must have been hurting all year and for all I know may have contracted spinal stenosis while sharing a weight-lifting bench with David Wright.

Also this weekend came word the Mets had dealt for our old friend Eric Young Jr., presumably in anticipation of requiring a Dave Roberts kinda stolen base sometime in September or October. You figure that’ll invite a controversy come September when Kevin Plawecki presumably returns, he inherited Young’s old No. 22 once EYJ was nontendered last season by the Mets.

We hope some additional visibility into this explosive issue in the days to come but would suggest not for the first time this season that the sheer volume of issued jerseys out there increases the likelihood a guy like Young, should he get the call, is looking at the possibility of wearing 0 — or 71.